The Kings will look to take their first lead of the Island Division Final series with a win tonight on the road. This series has been a homer one to date, with the Grizzlies holding serve in game 1 and 2 and the Q Centre, with the Kings returning the favour on home ice. What the Kings will look at is momentum. Did the Grizzlies ‘roll’ from a 3-1 rally against Alberni help in games 1 and 2, given the Kings had been off for close to a week? Perhaps. Will the Kings be able to use momentum gained from a dominating game 4 win on Tuesday night, and parlay that into game 5 success? We’ll see.

The Kings got pairs from Matt Scarth, Kurt Keats and Stephen Hiff en route to an 8-3 victory. Outside the scorelines, the team loves the WAY that they competed in games 3 and 4. It was the 180 that was badly needed following a disappointing games 1 and 2, in that the Kings badly outhit and out chances a Grizzlies team that began to lose its cool late in game 4. To their credit, the Kings were able to maintain their composure and in the same manner in which Victoria players were pointing to the score board in game 2, Kings players could point to the penalty box in game 4.

Little changes tonight for the Kings in game 5. Jonah Imoo goes again after two very solid outings in net. One of the hardest things for a player (of any sport) is to ‘be ready’, but you’re not sure for what, or when. Jonah came in and mopped up well in games 1 and 2, while quietly going about his business in games 3 and 4 for a full 60 minutes. Hunter Findlater will go again this evening as well as the Kings will be without Curtis McCarrick, Lucas Grayson and Brendyn Smith. In addition to Findlater, the Kings still have Gage Colpron and Trent Johnson from Campbell River in the VIJHL so there will be some lineup decisions coming today.

The Grizzlies didn’t look flat coming into game 3, but were certainly left a little bewildered by the time they left Powell River on Wednesday morning. A series that they controlled was back on level pegging, but while it may have been a little shock given the nature of their wins in Victoria, the overall theme of a close series is far from a surprise for Victoria. Head Coach Craig Didmon mentioned in our game 1 pre-game chat that he expects this to be a long series, as recent history would dictate. He has also echoed those comments in local Victoria media outlets.

Victoria were taked away from their game, especially on Wednesday night as a parade to the penalty box didn’t help the Grizzlies gather back any momentum following Hiff’s 1st and Scarth’s insurance late in the 2nd period. For that lack of discipline they’ll pay a price. Defenceman Chris Albertini was issued a 2-game suspension from the BCHL after Tuesday’s game. This stems from a blow to the head major that the officials called after a punch from Albertini to the helmet of Jarid Lukosevicius in a post-whistle scrum in the 3rd period. It came with about 4 minutes left in a game where the result was already gone. The suspension is automatic and he’ll be out for games 5 and 6.

The Grizzlies caused a bit of a stir in Victoria with their goaltending coming into game 3. Some were taken by surprise by the staff’s decision to switch up following Alec Dillon’s solid wins in game 1 and 2, and put in Nic Renyard. Stats supported the decision, Renyard went 4-1 against Alberni, but he had his highs and lows in game 3 by letting in a couple of soft goals, however stopped some breakaways and odd man rushes. Dillon started game 4 and got pulled after 40 minutes in favour of Renyard who let in 3. We’ll see where they go tonight.